Cayman Islands Dolphin Parks

Cayman Dolphin Encounters
Do not be mislead!

Many dolphin parks claim that they acquire their dolphin from other parks, giving the impression that they are not taking them from their natural habitats. But since dolphin seldom give birth and even fewer survive birth in captivity, the "other parks" theory is extremely misleading. Assuming it to be true, the other parks would still need to replace their dolphin from the wild so there can be no distinction.

Make no mistake
If you frequent any confined dolphin park where they are not free to come and go, you are directly contributing to the slaughter of the very animals you want to swim with!

The photos and videos are disturbing but that is the harsh reality of what is involved in bringing these highly intelligent marine mammals to captivity.

We ask only that you become aware of the facts before funding these attractions with your admission fees. Know the facts and decide for yourselves.

The survival of Caymans dolphin parks is dependant on your patronage so you can end the needless death and suffering by simply not patronizing any Cayman Islands dolphin parks or anywhere else where the dolphin are held captive.

There are two dolphin encounter parks in the Cayman Islands, both dolphin parks are located on Grand Cayman island. Both Cayman Islands dolphin parks are captive parks, meaning their dolphin are not permitted to come and go of their own accord. One Cayman Islands dolphin park is called Dolphin Cove Cayman and the other Cayman Islands dolphin park is called Dolphin Discovery (Cayman) Ltd.

The purpose of this website is not to promote Cayman dolphin parks, Cayman Islands dolphin encounters or any other Cayman dolphin swim or dolphin encounter experiences. But rather, to make you aware of the process of capturing dolphin from the wild, which is where every single dolphin in captivity comes from; and as you will see, whether the dolphin are purchased from other dolphin parks or taken from the wild makes absolutely no difference. This is not a matter of subjective argument or a platform for environmentalism. Our very simple purpose is to make as many people as possible aware of the dolphin capture process that is involved before any Cayman Islands dolphin encounters or anywhere else in the world are possible.

There are numerous dolphin encounter or swim with dolphin experiences or encounters throughout the world where the dolphin are free to come and go. In the cases of both Cayman Islands dolphin parks, the dolphin are held in captivity and not free to come and go. Knowing and understanding the difference, and being aware of the dolphin capturing process will allow you to make informed decisions about what types of establishments you want to support financially with your admission prices.

When visiting the Cayman Islands, you can essentially have free dolphin park admission prices, by simply not visiting either of these captive dolphin parks. Wherever you live, there are any number of dolphin encounter experiences much closer than the Cayman Islands, where the dolphin may come and go as they please and no harm is done to any dolphin during the capture or hunting process required to bring any dolphin to captivity.

So as not to bias The Cayman Islands dolphin parks, their dolphin parks are, as far as can be demonstrated of the same standard of any other dolphin parks so as not to single out the Cayman Islands dolphin parks. We choose to review the Cayman Islands dolphin parks because they are the most recent global additions to the dolphin park community.

Every single word, image and fact we present is beyond dispute, even by the Cayman dolphin parks or any others. Dolphin capture evidence is extremely well documented, verifiable and photographed.

There are dolphin encounters in many places throughout the world at geographical locations conducive to the dolphin's natural habitat where the dolphin are neither captured nor confined, much like Grand Cayman's Stingray City. However, this is not the case with Cayman Islands dolphin parks.

No species of dolphin are endemic to the Cayman Islands so they must be imported from other dolphinarium or marine "parks" or captured from the wild. As you will see, dolphin capturing processes are brutal to the extreme and for every dolphin you see in captivity, dozens have suffered agonizing deaths in the process. That, in a nutshell is the true cost of your entertainment, beyond the admission price, when entering a Cayman Islands dolphin park, or any other dolphin park, anywhere in the world where the dolphin are not free to come and go of their own accord.

Before dolphin can be interacted with in any captive dolphin parks, dolphin encounters, swim the dolphin experiences, or dolphinariums, they must first be captured from their homes in the wild. At least one of the Cayman Islands dolphin parks claims that they purchased their stock from other parks. Does this make it okay? The simple answer is no, because it is exactly the same as taking them from the wild, because the park that supplied them must then replenish their dolphin from the wild. If any dolphin park claims to be self sustaining - let alone overage to sell, by birthing that is an outright lie. To verify this is easy and can be accomplished with a web search for "captive dolphin survival rate". The statistics speak for themselves. The life span and reproduction rate of captive dolphin is less than 20% that of wild dolphin. Another myth is that dolphin are "safer" in captivity. And why not? There are no predators in their little swimming pools. But unfortunately, to a highly evolved intelligent species such as dolphin, a life in prison is even less appealing than a death sentence so few dolphin breed in captivity, even fewer give birth, and even fewer yet ever survive.

So virtually all captive dolphin are taken from the wild. And whether they arrive via a middle man supplier or from a different dolphin park makes absolutely no difference. The end result is the same. All captive dolphin are the unfortunate victims of dolphin hunting and capturing, which you will see is one of the most inhumane processes condoned by many humans; some intentionally, but most others unwitting victims such as yourselves, who think they are being a friend to the dolphin by visiting them in Cayman Island dolphin parks and any other captive park where the dolphin are not there of their own accord.

Japan and Norway are the only countries that still kill dolphin, even though all products made from dolphin can now be affordable manufactured and alternative food sources are abundant. The highest prices for dolphin are - by far, those paid by owners of dolphin parks, who pay upwards of $100,000 for any dolphin that can be delivered to them alive. Obviously, the difficult part is getting them anywhere "alive", hence the high price. The other reason is the exceptionally high mortality rate of dolphin born into captivity of less than 20%, compared to 80% or higher for those not born in captive dolphin parks.

These suppliers of marine mammals for marine parks, dolphin parks, swim with the dolphin encounters, etc. conduct their "hunts" in the most inhumane and deplorable manners imaginable.

The most commonly used method is "corralling" dolphin into narrow coves. The most effective means involves creating intolerable noise levels because they know that dolphin are extremely sensitive to sound, as they use it to communicate on levels that humans have yet to fully comprehend. Then they prey upon the dolphin's protective nature of family and friends by using knives and clubs to maim the dolphin pups, knowing that the parents will not abandon their injured dying friends or offspring. Indeed, dolphin have been known to save even other species — including humans, from death by drowning. Their altruist nature is repaid by killing them in the most cruel and excruciating manners possible, simply because it is the most cost effective way of acquiring as many as possible with the fewest resources. Most advanced civilizations do not even kill insects or rodents in such blatantly cruel ways, yet dolphin - with intelligence second only to humans and feeling the same pain sensations, are literally tortured to death. The ones "fortunate" enough to survive, then endure long grueling journeys to their final 'resting places' in dolphin parks in the Cayman Islands and other countries that condone such practices.

You will probably find these dolphin videos disturbing, indeed anyone not disturbed by the sheer torture and senseless brutality may benefit from counseling. However, you owe it to yourself and your children to be aware of the types of conduct that your dolphin park admission prices are perpetuating.

If dolphin captures really were conducted in a humane manner, like park enthusiasts would have us believe, then why are there no images indicating any humane dolphin park capture methods? Not a single image, video or picture of a dolphin park destine capture anywhere. They do produce ample dolphin pictures showing the tender loving care the dolphin in parks receive, even in transit to the Cayman Islands dolphin parks and all the rest. But the only reason for this is the simple fact that the dolphin park owners are protecting their investment. Remember, they are paying upwards of $100,000 for every dolphin that survives the "hunt" and subsequent journey to dolphin parks in the Cayman Islands and elsewhere.

You will not find a single image of any dolphin being captured from the wild in any humane manner. Indeed, there can be no humane manner because dolphin are fast intelligent beings. They do not want to be separated from family and put in what can only be called a prison, under the proven circumstances. And even if a somewhat humane means were used - like anesthetizing darts that have been tried, the casualties would remain the same. All surveys have proven that fact.

Dolphin are the most intelligent species next to man, of higher IQ than monkeys, chimpanzees, cats and dogs, primarily owing to their unique means of sonar communication. Dolphin are one of the few non-human species capable of educating each other - a high level learned behavior indicative of volitional thought and significantly different than the ability to select button x or y after a series of reward and punishment patterns.

Dolphin represent an extremely complex family oriented life form. Dolphin calves are dependent on their parents for survival and education for several years. Every mother taken from the wild leaves numerous orphans with much less chance of surviving. Some abandoned calves are adopted by other or females of the pod but by their efforts in protecting more than their own offspring, the adoptive mothers reduce their own chances of survival and that of their own calves.

This mindless torture and hunting of a highly species to the point of brutal extinction is not in any way necessary or justified. The financial rewards of Cayman Islands dolphin parks can and must be outweighed by the need for survival of this uniquely intelligent and not even yet understood species - the blue bottlenose dolphin.

We are not discriminating against the Cayman Island dolphin parks but they are to our knowledge the newest addition to the dolphin park world and were allowed to exist only after enormous public outcry from the people of the Cayman Islands to prevent any dolphin parks, swim with the dolphin, dolphin encounters or any other captive dolphin in the Cayman Islands. Their local newspaper ran polls demonstrating by more than 10-1, the people living in the Cayman Islands did not want anything to do with dolphin parks, the bad publicity they generate, the effluent waste they create to an already damaged marine environment and the global public outcry to cease this senseless practice. Yet money and politics prevailed and there are not one but two captive dolphin parks in the Cayman Islands.

How long they are allowed to thrive and perpetuate the capture processes described above are entirely up to you, the paying customer. It is your choice to make and now you can make an informed decision as to whether or not you want to spend your money paying admission fees to the Cayman Islands or any dolphin parks, which will directly contribute to the perpetuation of all of the images, photos and videos seen here. You know, the ones you couldn't watch all the way through?

Think about it.

And think about how today's more educated children will look back at your decision in a decade or two. Do you want to be remembered as the parents who paid to endorse these types activities, knowing what you know now? The decision and the future success or demise of the practices seen here lie entirely in your hands.

People seem to think that dolphin parks are happy places. And why not? The dolphin always seem to be "smiling".

But the dolphin "smile" is only a manifestation of their generally open, extended bottlenose jaw line filled with bright shiny teeth.

The fact is, dolphin almost always appear to be smiling, even in their death, as demonstrated by the image above, even covered in its own blood.

We of course want to juxtapose our own egocentric interpretations of smiles on their faces to justify our attendance at their dolphin prisons.

If you find these dolphin pictures disturbing, imagine how these highly intelligent beings are actually feeling. After the "hunt" the dead and dying dolphin are left violently convulsing as others are processed for food and transported to dolphin encounter parks. The parents, brothers, sons or daughters of all of the dolphin you see here could very well be in a dolphin park, perhaps in the Cayman Islands. Are you ready to pull out your wallet and get in line?

Education is the key to survival of all species.

Will your education of the plight of dolphin help the survival of their species?